Video or computer games for home use are well known where a game cartridge or floppy disk is utilized in conjunction with a personal computer or a specially designed game console (which itself is equivalent to a specialized personal computer). Extensions of this include the use of a telephone modem hooking the personal computer to a central computer and via a two-way telephone line to, for example, playing a game originated and controlled by the central computer. Alternatively, the entire game may be downloaded to the remote personal computer.
A typical example of the foregoing is, for example, in a casino where a viewer may watch an actual game of Keno or craps in his hotel room on a TV monitor and with wired communication to the central casino place bets and accomplish other necessary transactions. This is shown in Hedges U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,798.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,546 illustrates game consoles located in homes hooked to a common network where the viewers are watching live a, for example, football game. Here both lockout signals and other information is transmitted via an FM SCA channel to each participant and a final score based on the proficiency at guessing, for example, the type of play of the football game, is scored and uploaded via telephone line.